Looks like the case SRS were giving away free with the MX-1 a while back. Fits perfectly.

Hi - no issues with zoom creep for me but I wouldn't expect miracles for fast continuous focus though. May be ok if your dogs are old! Focussing can be a little fidgety at the longer end....but then that's also true of similar lenses including the DA55-300. Jon

I very rarely use longer zooms - perhaps having a call for them two or three times a year - and have come to the realisation that if there really was a telephoto zoom "shoot of a lifetime" I'd be better off renting a good lens for that occasion rather than having a heavy bazooka sitting around expensively doing nothing at home.

The Pentax 55-300 DA is an obvious sensible choice for most of us, but for less than £90 new including a decent guarantee, the Tamron 70-300 isn't half bad - in fact it gives the DA a good run for its money in terms of image sharpness, has a better close focus/"macro" capability but is notorious for being a bit wild with purple fringing (although that is at least easy to process out nowadays).

For people who want to see what the results would be from a typical "dog walk in the park" shoot with this bargain lens, here are a few from this morning - all bar the first taken at 300mm so not playing to its strengths (the tufted duck is at 260mm). In short, they may not be photographic masterpieces but, for me, the lens is more than "good enough" for some occasional fun:













Hope they help if you're wondering about this lens - sometimes some typical images can help!

Cheers,

Jon

Assuming you mean 50mm, rather than the equivalent of a 50mm field of view (which would head you towards the 30-35mm options), the most obvious Pentax contenders would be the 55mm DA* (superb but pricey portrait lens), 50mm FA (deservedly popular and a lens with some character esp wide open) or 50mm DA L (excellent images but built to a price), the latter being the cheapest option but still offering great image quality. A more expensive wildcard would be the 43 mm FA Ltd - slightly odd focal length on APS C though. Outside Pentax, Sigma would be a good contender, but bulky.

Hi- Most of Pentax's DA lenses, aside from the DA-L budget lenses, have this feature. It means that you can keep the camera in autofocus mode but can over-ride that or tweak it by using the manual focus ring. For most other autofocus lenses, you need to put the camera in manual focus mode before you can use the focussing ring. It's really quite useful, especially with longer lenses that can hunt a bit in autofocus mode. For example, it can help to use MF to get the lens in generally the right place, and then allow AF to tweak it to perfection - I used this feature with the 55-300 quite frequently.

Hope this helps,

Jon

Agree - right hand grips the camera whilst left hand supports the lens (and most of my lenses do still have an aperture ring and compulsory "quick shift"....just no autofocus!).

As the 31mm is one of the two best lenses I ever used, I'd urge you to keep it! The other was the 77.

Different folks! I use the top screen quite often to check settings at a glance in advance of an anticipated shot. Viewfinder info used a lot, with the rear LCD usually off unless reviewing images. I can easily manage without a top LCD - it's not a deal-breaker, but I think it is nice to have.

Mine came from SRS with a free Pentax branded Billingham pouch, with belt loop. Works perfecly. Looks suspiciously like the Avea 05, which is more expensive than I think I'd be prepared to pay, but worth a look if you can find it on offer somewhere.

I found the upgrade from K-5 to K-5IIs bigger than I expected. Autofocus is significantly better (I'm sure K-3 will be another improvement) with focussing of some lenses (especially Tamron 17-50) more accurate, and there is a difference in image sharpness, with all the other qualities (dynamic range, noise, etc) just as good, as you'd expect from the K-5. I'd recommend it highly.

Cheers,

Jon